ROB’S RECAPS - STATE LEAGUE D1 - ROUND 11

BASEBALL (January 4, 2025)

GOODWOOD LAST GASP VICTORY

By Robert Laidlaw [Adelaide v GGCD photos from Paul Taeuber]

BEHIND VETERAN DARREN FIDGE, Goodwood came from the clouds to beat Gawler Rangers 6-5 at Morlock Park, with a four-run bottom of the ninth in division one baseball.

Gawler led 5-2 after three digs, with that scoreline holding until the bottom of the ninth, when Josh Bradley walked, Dylan Howarth singled, Billy Sutton hit a three-run dinger, Brodie Heeps walked, Fidge doubled, Sam Galpin walked to load the bases, and Henry Wiese walked in the winning run.

As for Fidge, he batted 1000 with four hits and a walk, and pitched the final three innings for the win, conceding one hit for five strikeouts.

At the top of the first frame, Seb Heintze-Unger walked and Dylan Child hit a two-run home run to stake the Rangers to a 2-0 lead.

But in the bottom of the opening dig, with two out, consecutive hits to Heeps, Fidge, Galpin and Wiese saw the game tied at 2-2.

Then at the top of the third inning, Zac Heintze-Unger walked and stole second base, Seb Heintze-Unger hit a RBI single, Child walked and Brad Przibilla ran out an infield hit, for a RBI, with a second run scoring on a fielder’s choice, to give Gawler a 5-2 lead.

And that was it until the Indians amazing fightback at the death knell.

Seb Heintze-Unger started on the mound for the Rangers, giving up seven hits in five frames for seven strikeouts.

HOME RUNS WERE THE STORY of the game in Southern Districts 10-5 victory over West Torrens at Lockleys.

All the Eagles’ runs came off two Austin Gallagher dingers, while the decisive rally by South was a five-run top of the fourth, when Jake Campbell hit a two-run homer and Brett Hattersley plated three runs with his fence-buster.

Gallagher hit a three-run bomb at the bottom of the opening frame, after hits to James McFarlane and Mason Clavell, to give West Torrens a 3-0 start.

The Hawks clawed their way back with a pair of runs at the top of the third dig, after hits to Drew Davies and Hattersley, a walk to Tomoya Kawakami loaded the bases, with one run coming in when Luke Hansen was hit by a pitch and then Ben Short hit a sac fly.

In that decisive fourth inning, Ashton Hutchings singled to set up Campbell’s big blow, while setting the table for Hattersley, Matt Hutchings doubled and Davies walked.

Davies hit a sac fly in the seventh inning, while Gallagher made it 8-5 with his second homer in the eighth, after Tom McGarry doubled.

At the top of the ninth, hit to Campbell, Davies, Hattersley and Kawakami saw another two runs to pad out the margin to 10-5.

South starter Nick Hutchings pitched five frames for the win, conceding five hits for six strikeouts.

A BIG SIX-RUN SIXTH INNING blew out a close game at West Lakes, as Henley & Grange mercied reigning premier Sturt 13-3 in seven frames.

The Rams were on top early, with two runs in the first dig, after Lou Helmig tripled and Liam Bull doubled.

Jet Clohessy hit a sac fly in the second inning and Jack Partington had a RBI single in the fourth, as Henley went 4-0 up.

A big Blake Farr home run at the top of the fifth dig breathed some life into the Saints and got them on the scoreboard.

But dingers to Helmig and Bull in the bottom of the frame saw the Rams extend their lead to 7-1.

Then Sturt took advantage of two walks at the top of the sixth, when Mitch Lightbody hit a RBI double and Simon Baumer had a run-scoring groundout, to close the gap to 7-3.

The reply by Henley was swift and decisive, with six runs crossing home plate in the bottom of the sixth, after four free passes, singles to Clohessy and Partington, and Koki Yonezawa’s three-run triple.

Wilson Lee pitched 5.1 innings to claim the win, conceding two hits for 12 strikeouts.

IN A WELL-PITCHED GAME, Woodville managed to squeak home 3-1 against a tenacious Tigers at Glenelg.

The Senators managed the game’s first run at the top of the third inning, when Callum Park walked, went to second base on a wild pitch and scampered home on Drew Janssen’s hit up the middle.

With starting pitchers AJ Verastegui (four digs, no hits and eight K2s) for Woodville and Glenelg’s Carson Angeroth (five frames, three hits, nine K2s), on top, scoring was at a premium.

At the bottom of the fifth inning Jacob Eldridge collected the Tigers’ first hit of the ballgame. He was advanced to second base on Jaikob Mathews’ bunt, and came home on Tom Huttunen’s double – Glenelg’s second and last hit of the game.

In the top of the eighth a pair of walks opened the door for the Senators, with Oliver Hayes hitting a sac fly and Troy Nicholson belting a RBI double, to give Woodville a 3-1 lead.

And from the mound reliever Janssen was perfect for Woodville, retiring all nine batters he faced in three innings, with four strikeouts, to claim the win.

IT WAS A BATTERS’ PARADISE at Payneham, where East Torrens beat Northern Districts 14-8.

The Reds got on the scoreboard first on a Joel Paulino home run at the top of the opening inning, to lead 1-0.

But a two-run Jude Ard double helped the Redsox score three times in the bottom of the frame, and in the second, a Mark Stewart RBI single and an error made it 5-1.

After Jason King doubled and score in the third dig for the home team, North came back with three runs at the top of the fourth, Steve Matulic’s two-run double the highlight, as East Torrens led 6-4.

A big grand slam home run by Jay Sanderson in the bottom of the fourth again put the Redsox in the driver’s seat, leading 10-4.

Paulino hit a two-bagger and came home on Albert Dominguez’s single in the fifth, and at the top of the seventh, another Reds’ run scored and the deficit was down to 10-6.

The result was put out of doubt in the bottom of the seventh as East Torrens scored another four runs, with Aiden Lucas’ two-run, two-bagger the highlight.

Back-to-back doubles by Nick Clifton and Tyson Lees saw North score another run in the eighth, and in the ninth, Cameon Dzeigo tripled and scored.

ON THE BACK OF AN EIGHT-RUN second inning, Port Adelaide proved too strong for Kensington at Erindale in a 13-0 victory.

That big early rally was fuelled by three walks, three errors, Ryan Schrapel’s single, Brodie Arriola’s sac fly and Jack Stead’s three-run dinger.

Will Paech led off with a solo home run at the top of the third, with that 9-0 lead holding up until the top of the seventh, when the Magpies scored four times, on RBI hits to Schrapel and Paech, and Nick Vasic’s two-run single.

From the mound, Sammy Steigert went the distance for Port, conceding two hits for 10 strikeouts in seven innings.

RILEY YEATMAN DID THE JOB with the bat and ball to lead Adelaide to an 11-1 victory over Golden Grove Central Districts at Illyarrie Reserve.

Yeatman pitched five innings for four hits and six strikeouts, while also smashing two long home runs.

The Angels scored the game’s first run at the top of the first frame, after Ty Forney walked, Ben Ganley singled and Rahmen Martinez had a RBI hit – his first of four for the game.

A pair of walks and Henry Cann’s RBI double set up Yeatman’s three-run bomb at the top of the third dig, as Adelaide led 5-0. Then in the fourth, Billy Damon hit a sac fly and Cann hit a RBI single, for a 7-0 advantage.

Another pair of runs in the seventh, on Chris Congdon’s RBI hit up the middle and Forney’s sac fly, made it 9-0, with the Dodgers getting on the board in the eighth, on Nick Walsh’s single.

Then at the top of the ninth, Yeatman hit his second homer, while Lachlan Pace and Damon combined hits for the final run of the game.

There were two outstanding players for the Dodgers, with Tyler Green collecting four hits, and Brandon Manzella taking seven catches in centrefield.

* * * * *

Division one baseball results:

Henley & Grange d Sturt 13-3 (hits: H&G – Partington 2, Helmig 2 (hr), Bull 2 (hr), Yonezawa, J. Hodges, Trevaskis, Clohessy; Sturt – Lightbody, Baumer, Altamura, Farr (hr). WP: W. Lee; LP: A. McClure).

Goodwood d Gawler Rangers 6-5 (hits: Goodwood – Fidge 4, Sutton (hr), Weber, Heeps, Galpin, Wiese, Pratt, Bradley, D. Howarth; Gawler – S. Heintze-Unger, Child (hr), Renken, Przibilla, Paturis. WP: D. Fidge; LP: E. Badcock).

East Torrens d Northern Districts 14-8 (hits: ET – Stewart 4, Ashcroft 3, Lucas 2, Sanderson 2 (gshr), Ard 2, Powell, King, T. Chandler; North – Paulino 3 (hr), Dominguez 3, Clifton 2, Fraser 2, Lees, Dzeigo, Matulic. WP: W. Couzner; LP: T. Marshall).

Woodville d Glenelg 3-1 (hits: Woodville – Janssen 2, Castellano 2, Carroll 2, T. Nicholson; Glenelg – Jac. Eldridge, Huttunen. WP: D. Janssen; LP: A. Steff).

Southern Districts d West Torrens 10-5 (hits: South – Davies 3, Hattersley 3 (hr), Campbell 2 (hr), M. Hutchings 2, Kawakami 2, A. Hutchings 2, Short, Turner; WT – T. McGarry 2, Gallagher 2 (2 hr), McFarlane, Clavell, Barker. WP: N. Hutchings; LP: C. Roe).

Port Adelaide d Kensington 13-0 (hits: Port – Stead 2 (hr), Schrapel 2, Paech 2 (hr), Vasic, F. McKee, Mitchell; Kensington – Bishop, E. Spratt. WP: S. Steigert; LP: D. Filko).

Adelaide d GGCD 11-1 (hits: Adelaide – Martinez 4, Yeatman 3 (2 hr), Pace 3, Cann 2, Forney, B. Ganley, Damon, Williams; GGCD – Green 4, Youngblood 2, Shotton, Walsh, Manson. WP: R. Yeatman; LP: B. Caskey).

Premiership points: Woodville 26, Southern Districts 24, Henley & Grange 24, Sturt 22, Adelaide 20, Port Adelaide 18, West Torrens 18, Gawler Rangers 14, East Torrens 14, Glenelg 12, GGCD 8, Goodwood 6, Northern Districts 2, Kensington 2.